


Breaking and Entering

by TriggerHappyChocobo



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 23:45:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17151278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriggerHappyChocobo/pseuds/TriggerHappyChocobo
Summary: Just trying to spread some Christmas cheer to one angsty cop. A Christmas gift for the wonderful Absolutely_Barbaric ~ All characters belong to her!





	Breaking and Entering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Absolutely_Barbaric](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Absolutely_Barbaric/gifts).



> Happy Christmas, buddy <3 Hope you like your boys~

“I don’t know if he’ll actually want us to do this.”

It’s wasn’t that Danny doubted Seth. On the contrary, he would trust Seth's judgement on almost everything. But lurking in Castiel's garden at the dead of night, suspiciously fumbling around the porch, felt like a recipe for disaster.

“You sayin' he’d rather be sad and alone at Christmas? On his _birthday_?” Seth shook his head. “Surely you should know the boss better than this by now. He acts all tough but he’s a big ol' softy really.”

Danny couldn’t deny that. “I’m just not sure if breaking into his house on Christmas Eve is the best way to go about it.”

“It ain’t breaking in if we have a key.” Seth triumphantly lifted the spare he’d found, then handed it to Danny. “All these years as a cop and he still makes it this easy to find.”

“A rookie error, and yet _you_ also keep a spare in the same place, you hypocrite.”

Seth smiled. “That’s how I knew where to look.”

Danny could feel a lecture on home security brewing but he pushed it aside until later, since it was neither the time nor place for that. Instead, they had to focus on the most difficult phase of operation Bring Christmas Cheer To Castiel; getting past his three German Shepherds.

“They’re gonna be excited to see us!” Seth said.

“Or maul us to death.” Danny added, dryly.

“They wouldn’t do that, they know we’re Cas’ friends. You got their treats ready?”

Danny nodded, rummaging through his bag for the large bones he’d packed. They would hopefully be enough to keep the dogs quiet while the boys did what they had to do.

Sure enough, the moment the door opened, all three dogs came bounding over to see what was happening. King barked a couple of times, loud enough to wake the entire neighbourhood, so Danny made sure to give him his bone first as he softly shushed the excitable animal. He gave treats to the others and then crept into the house with bated breath, hoping that King hadn’t woken Castiel up.

Once they were confident that Cas wasn’t going to leap out from behind the furniture and mace them, they could really take in the atmosphere of the place. His house was the same as ever, not even a hint of Christmas in the décor. It was a sad sight.

“I can't believe he doesn’t even have a tree.” Seth noted. “We shoulda brought one with us, maybe next year we can- woah, hold up!” he halted, putting an arm out to stop Danny from walking any further.

Unexpectedly, they saw the man himself. Castiel was crashed out on the sofa, sitting upright while the soft glow of a muted TV illuminated his face.

“That can’t be comfortable.” Danny noted, tutting slightly. “Maybe we should wake him. I doubt that’s doing his back any good.”

“Are you nuts? We can’t wake him! Our stealth mission would have been for nothing if we do that.”

“I suppose.” Danny said, but still he walked towards Cas, figuring the least he could do was prop some pillows up for him. He reached for the nearest cushion, then froze abruptly as he spotted something flat and rectangular held loosely in Castiel’s hands.

“Is this-?” he wondered aloud, taking a peak at the item.

It was a framed photograph of Cas and his ex fiancé, and Danny recognised it as the day they’d gotten engaged. Cas looked so happy; he had an arm draped around the other's shoulder, and a smile that said he had not a care in the world now his lover had committed his life to him.

Too bad it didn’t last. Castiel always felt the pain of heartbreak especially strongly around December.

“What ya found?” Seth asked, peering over Danny’s shoulder. He frowned when he saw. “Oh... We can't be havin' this.”

Seth strode over to the mantelpiece, surveying the photos displayed on there before settling on a better one. He picked it out and took it over to Castiel, whipping the old picture away from Cas' grasp and replacing it. He stuffed the one of Cas' ex face-down in the drawer of the coffee table, then stood beside a very nervous looking Danny.

“That was so risky!” Danny quietly scolded, but Seth just shrugged.

“He didn’t even flinch, no harm done.”

Danny was sure this night had aged him several years. “We should just hurry this up and go.”

Seth agreed, and pulled a small box from his bag, neatly wrapped in sparkling paper and topped with a bow.

“What do you reckon?” Seth asked. “Kitchen table? I think he’ll definitely see it there.”

“Perfect.” Danny said, and Seth placed it in the kitchen. “Now lets get out of here.”

Seth didn’t need to be told twice; he dreaded to think what Cas would do if he caught them. They briskly left the house, stopping to give the dogs a pet on the way out, and kept walking until they were far, far away.

“Looks like we got our turn to play Santa this time!' Seth beamed, holding his hand up for a high five that was enthusiastically given.

“Told ya it would go well!”

“Yeah yeah, no need to be so smug. I’m just glad he didn’t set traps like we did to him.”

The pair laughed fondly as they walked home, feeling accomplished and looking forward to hearing from their boss the next day.

* * *

A lot of things ran through Cas' mind when he woke up on Christmas morning. The first - ouch, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep on the sofa. He stood up and stretched, grip tightening on the object in his hand. 

Unfortunately, the evening came flooding back to him. Perhaps more specifically, the part where he’d fallen asleep while sadly reminiscing on his failed relationship.

With a sigh, he went to put the picture away when he noticed something strange; this photo wasn’t the one he was expecting to see. It showed him, Seth and Danny, and was taken on Seth’s birthday a few years ago. They were all a little on the tipsy side, full of delicious food and in very high spirits. That had been a fun evening all round, and the fond memories warmed Castiel's heart.

Still, it was weird. He didn’t remember picking that picture up.

Confused but mood uplifted, he put it back where it belonged, and then headed to the kitchen to get breakfast for his beloved pets. That was when the next strange thing happened; his dogs were nowhere to be seen. Concerned, he called their names, and thankfully all three came bounding in. Their tails were wagging, and each was carrying a bone between their teeth. No wonder they weren’t hungry.

“Where did you get those?” Cas asked. Surely he hadn’t forgotten buying them. “Wow, how much did I drink yesterday?”

Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a present. He was momentarily taken aback, but then suddenly everything clicked into place; there were only two people who would have done all this. Picking up the gift, he found it was relatively light, and it rattled slightly when he gave it a gentle shake.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he tore the paper away. Inside was a card and a gift set of his favourite shower products and aftershave. 

It was certainly a nice surprise, but Cas thought the preparation gone into delivering it was overkill for what it was. He opened the card, knowing fully well who the culprits would be.

What he didn’t expect was the message inside. In Seth's messy scrawl, he read:

_Yo Cas, merry birthday! We’re having a party at our place, be there at 4._

And underneath, in handwriting that was unmistakeably Danny's:

_No pressure if you don’t want to, we’ll save you some food! It’d be nice to see you there!_

_From Danny and Seth_

_PS. Hope the pups liked their treats!_

Cas held the card tight, reading the message a second time as a joyful feeling washed over him. Of course, he’d have to give them both a stern talking to about entering his house without permission, and maybe train his dogs to be a tad more vigilant. But for now, he stood the card on the table next to his gift and raided the fridge for breakfast as he thought about what he was going to wear that evening.

The time of year was always difficult for him but maybe, just this once, the holiday season would be enjoyable after all.

 


End file.
